


Dancing in the Dark

by CrispyDen



Category: Wick (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Child Abuse, Child Death, Explicit Language, Family Drama, Graphic Depictions of Illness, Religious Content, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Rivalry, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-05-13 21:45:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14756879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrispyDen/pseuds/CrispyDen
Summary: Tim and his siblings have always suffered at the actions of their parents, and each other. His only wish is to see his twin smile again. With Tom's illness growing worse each day, Tim does his very best to be at his brother's side. The violence in the family only gets more and more frequent as the mother loses her sanity. The father's drinking tips him over the deep end into chaotic rages against his children. Horror was a constant companion to the children but, little did they know... their candles weren't to be lit much longer.





	1. Whittled

Ever since Halloween my brother won’t take off his mask. Tom won’t wear his leg braces nor will he use his crutches. It makes me very sad to see him hobble around. I can’t tell how much pain he’s in anymore because of the mask. That horrible frown I carved into it reminds me of his daily struggle with this disease. But they laugh at him. Papa warned me if I get into another fight that he’d homeschool me like he did with Benny. He took away my whittling knife too! All I did was try to defend Tom! So, I started wearing my Halloween mask too. I never wanted Tom to hurt and this is what I feel that I can do for him. When I get my knife back, I can do much more to help my brother. Seeing Tom in that mask made my chest hurt because I knew how much he was hurting under it. 

Most didn’t know that the smile on my mask was hiding my anger. I knew I had a bad temper and that’s why I whittled wood. It helped me calm down to make sure I didn’t fly off the handle. When it was time to go home from school I always helped Tom through the forest to our family home. Most of the time, I just gave him a piggyback ride. He’s light enough for me to carry because of his muscles being so weak in his arms and legs. I feel bad for Tom that he’ll never get better. Mama blames herself for Tom’s polio but I just think these things happen. To be honest, I think he caught it from one of the kids on the train or something. Probably when he was a baby. Papa still teases Tom for how much he used to cry as a baby. But that’s because he was in pain, even at that age. Benny told us stories about his first train ride when he was two; when Tom and I were babies. I think that might be when Tom caught polio. 

It was getting dark and I wanted to help my brother get to bed. We had to share a room with Caleb but Benny and Lillian had to share as well. Caleb always stared at us when I helped Tom put on his leg braces. Tom refused to wear them outside of the house, no matter how much I begged him. Caleb’s part of the room was always dirty due to his enjoyment of sports. I didn’t understand it. He had good grades, so why do sports? It was dumb! Caleb turned his back to us as he pulled his blankets over himself. Tom moved over in the bed for me to lay with him. With my arms around my brother and our masks hang on the wall, we fell asleep. 

_____________________

Benny woke Tom and I up late in the night. He seemed frantic but wouldn’t talk until we left the bedroom. With my twin crutching behind me, Benny almost grabbed me up.

“You two were taken, ‘member? You don’t understand, the devil will com’ again! He din’ finish you, Tim! He’s gonna com’ back for the res’ of us.”

“Dear Lord, this again? Benny, this is crazy. Tom didn’t get sick because of ‘the devil’. Can you please just let us sleep? Keep Lilly up with your talk,” I replied as I walked off outside. Tom followed behind me, slowly, but he sat beside me on a wood cutting stump outside a bit away from the house. 

“Don’t let him bother you, Tim,” my brother said to me in his soft voice.

“I just get so tired of hearing him preach. You got sick, that’s no fault of anyone. Not Mama, not ‘the devil’ and not anyone we know. It just happened.”

Tom gazed off at my tone before leaning on me and trying to hold my hand. “Please don’t be mad anymore, Tim.” His breathing was labored again, “Let’s just head home and get to bed. Benny’s probably back asleep anyway.” He was right about that. Benny could sleep through another war if it came to it! Tom really couldn’t walk back that far from the woodshed to the house, so I carried him on my back. Once we were back home, I got my brother back into bed. Sleep wouldn’t come to me and I just sat outside with a kitchen knife. If Papa wouldn’t give me my knife, I’d just use this. 

Sunlight didn’t wake me up in the morning. It was Caleb kicking dirt into my face. I had fallen asleep against the house and it just  _ had _ to be Caleb to find me first. He picked up put what I made, just a rabbit of wood. My younger brother tossed it as far as he could into the trees. A voice just rose out of my throat, “What the hell, Caleb?! That was for Lily!” Caleb smirked at me and took off down the trail in his cleats for his dumb morning run. Now I have to go look for the carving but before I could even do that, Papa grabbed me by the arm. “What did I tell you about the damn knives?” he snarled at me, “Boy, you’re on thin fucking ice! Give me that!” Papa snatched the knife from my hand before shoving me against the side of the house.

“I tell Caleb all fucking night that he can’t run in the forest when it’s dark. And if I have to take one more knife away from you, it’ll be your ass.” With that, Papa went off to the woodshed. My shoulder hurt from how hard he pushed me into the wall. Lily peered around the front door before walking out with her Honey Bunny. “He’s had the smelly water,” she whispered to me before rushing back inside. Of course, Papa’s been drinking. He’s always drinking ever since I could remember. Going back into the house wasn’t much better than being alone but at least I had Tom. He reached for me slightly; helping him stand and moving him towards the bathroom. 

“Stay here, I’ll get the water,” I said to him calmly. “Tim, the well is a long walk. Don’t go alone, I’ll go with you,” Tom insisted.

“Oh no, you’re not going all that way with or without your braces and crutches! We both need a bath, Tom. Just stay here and I’ll be back. If I run into Caleb, I’ll have him walk with me.”

“Caleb hates us. He’s a brat,” my twin hissed under his breath as I helped him pull off his shirt. 

A laugh stopped in my throat and a smile on my face, “I’ll be back okay?” But, Benny is the one who put his hand on my shoulder. Both Tim and I had a smile on our faces at the sight of Benny with two large buckets of water from the well. He smiled slight before leaving us with the water. One bucket for us, and one for Lillian for now. I didn’t like bathing with Tom much anymore but, Mama and Papa wouldn’t go get the water. After undressing us both, I squeezed into the tub with Tom. I got the rag wet and squeezed the water over Tom’s head. Washing his hair was the easy part of the bath. Tom couldn’t wash himself well, so I had to. It had been a while since we both had a bath and we were pretty dirty. A weak laugh came from my twin when I started to wash his feet. The best part is that he couldn’t pull away! I had to stop when his laughing turned into coughing. I loved my brother a lot and I’d do anything to make the rest of his life better. It’ll be short, and he doesn’t have long. But I will keep him safe, I will take care of him, and I will survive for him. 


	2. A Preacher with No Tongue

Mama took us all to church on Sundays. Lillian wouldn’t pay attention most days, Benny would focus will all his being, Caleb wouldn’t give the pastor the light of day. As for Tom and I, Mama made us take off our masks. She’d get mad when Tom started crying during the sermon because of his pain. I was focused on him and he couldn’t focus at all. It pained me to see him cry and the expression on his face. He wore the mask for a reason but, Mama didn’t care. We were in God’s house and we “needed to respect Him”. Mama’s God was a vengeful and cruel one. 

She said he wasn’t kind to those who didn’t accept Jesus into their hearts to lift their sins. Mama didn’t love us anymore, I’ve heard what she’s said about us while praying to her false deity. I know all the secrets that Mama has told the pastor. Her words were like venom in a glass that you’d be forced to drink. One thing or another, I would get the preacher to spill everything. 

Tears were dripping down my twins face and he was audibly sobbing from his pain. Mama shoved Tom with her elbow in a useless attempt to make him stop. It only made him cry louder; making my blood boil over. Without hesitation, I hopped over the pew to scoop up Tom to get him out of there. Mama was hot on our heels to catch us before we got out of the building. I had to put my hand over Tom’s mouth to make him quiet enough that Mama didn’t hear us while I was running. He tapped rapidly at my arm to move it so he could gasp for breath. I was having issues breathing as well. I was never the best at running because it usually felt like I was trying to breath through a straw if I was too quick. Much like Mama, she gave up looking for us and we could catch our breath.

Tom couldn’t stand and reach the water fountain but, if i cupped my hands to scoop it up he couldn’t really tip his head back to drink. He needed some water. With my own cheeks full of water, I hovered my mouth over Tom’s. He drank the water slowly and then weakly pushed me away. It was really gross but we both knew it was the only way he could drink anything with the state he was in. We didn’t go home after Church but to the camp across the fence from our land. Since it was off-season we had free range to roam around. Or just crash in a cabin.

“I know what the preacher knows and he doesn’t say anything! We need help, Tom. I think that Mama’s planning something. I’ve heard her talk to the preacher and she says terrible things.”

 

“There’s nothing we can do. Maybe we should just keep quiet. I mean, it works for me for the most part.”

 

“I don’t want to be silent anymore. I’m fed up with how they treat us. But, I do have an idea for what to do about Pastor McAlroy.”

 

Tom frowned at the thought before leaning into my words, “What do you have in mind?”

 

\------------------------------------

 

“Tell me the truth!” Papa yelled at Tom and myself. We both had our gazes down after he ripped off our masks. Papa wouldn’t hit Tom much but he’d hit me hard enough for the both of us. The belt came up above his head and I fell to the ground. A large deep red mark striped my side before a second hit stung my arm. “You fuckers are in some deep shit! Burning down the church?! What were you thinking?” 

He didn’t stop. He would use the belt on me a few times then he used it on Tom. Papa grabbed me by the hair and dragged me to the bathroom. He smelled so terribly of alcohol that it burned my throat from him breathing on me. My head hit the bathtub with a solid  _ bang!  _ before he tossed me into the tub. Papa had my whittling knife in his hand, “I found this in under your pillow, boy. I told you to stay away from fucking knives!”

His hand grabbed around my cheeks and I couldn’t move. No matter what, if I struggled or not, he was going to hurt me. Papa wretched before letting out a stomach full of booze and bile onto me. With my eyes closed, I shook as I held back my own sickness. He grabbed my face again to hold my head still. Luckily, I had sharpened my knife before I went to bed on Sunday. So many, it wouldn’t be so painful. 

 

\-------------------------------------------

School was even worse now that my face was wrapped in bandages. Teachers told the others not to ask or stare. Papa took my mask but let Tom keep his; which I’m thankful for. I felt the stares and heard the words so much more now. Five times as frequent and twice as harsh. 

“Look at Weaver! Jesus what the hell happened to him?”

 

“Well, at least him and his brother match! Now they’re both disfigured!”

 

“I heard he did it himself after seeing something in the forest.”  
  
“I wonder what he looks like under those bandages. Probably worse than his normal face.”

 

They were all idiots. I did my best to not snap at Tom or Lillian. Benny was on my last nerve with his religious bullshit. He says he hears “the Lord's” voice late at night. One man claims to hear the voice of God and he is crucified then becomes a martyr. With how Benny is acting, he’ll end up dead too but just called another crazy person. That’s just how the world works. It hurt so much to move any part of my face. 

Tom helped me clean my wounds before bed; Caleb was afraid to look at me. I would be scared to look at me too. No nose, a messed up eye, a lot of my flesh had been removed. Papa cut my lips rather badly too so that my teeth could be seen. Caleb has been worrying me lately. He’s been getting very thin, more so than when soccer season it about. I don’t think Mama has been letting him eat as much as he needs to. I felt like I had to do something about all this. Mama was getting way out of hand. She needed to be dealt with. 

 

“Stay here Tom, I need to do this myself,” I muttered behind my bandages. 

 

Tom handed me my mask, “I stole it from Papa’s room.” 

With that, I strapped on my mask and left the house with the largest knife in the kitchen. That preacher won’t be speaking to the Lord much longer. He needs to quit feeding Mama these toxic thoughts. Or she’d kill us. 


End file.
